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Brexit

I did wonder whether to write a post on this, but given the massive impact and the level of passion I have for the subject, it would feel disingenuous not to. Anyway, I need to vent, and if I can’t do that on my own blog, then where else? Probably don’t read it if you voted leave.

So after the initial shock at the result yesterday morning, I’ve been feeling a number of emotions. I’ve been worried, ashamed, but most of all I’ve been really fucking angry.

I’m angry that an issue as important as this ever went to referendum. We live in a democracy, which means that our democratically elected leaders should make these decisions on our behalf. The truth is, that most of the population (and I include myself in this) don’t have a good enough grasp of the issues at stake to be able to make a sensible decision. This is not just about immigration or who has control, it’s about economics, the environment, jobs, our children’s futures.

Whilst I fully accept that many leave supporters don’t fall into this camp, I’m raging with the racists/bigots/xenophobes/Daily Mail readers who have made this decision based on their small minded views about immigration.

I’m apoplectic with the fuckwits who used this as a protest vote against the government (this was far bigger than that), or worse, didn’t think their vote to leave would count and now wish they’d voted to stay.

I’m raging at the fact that we (and by we I mean society in general) have allowed so many to become so disenfranchised that the far right has been able to get a foothold.

I’m hopping mad (as if rage could be demonstrated by the medium of jumping on one foot) about the lies which have formed the basis of the leave campaign, that not only did were the lies told, but that many people were too gullible or just too lazy to do any research of their own.

I am filled with wrath and loathing that Britain has been congratulated on this decision by (in the words of TFL) that nylon haired twat Donald Trump and even more shamefully, Marine le Pen.

I’m sure my anger will eventually give way to merely depression, my shame to embarrassment. But in the 36 or so hours since we learned of the decision, our prime minister has stepped down, the stock market is down, our credit rating has been changed to negative, the value of the pound has decreased which means a likely increase in petrol prices at the pumps next week, Scotland is petitioning for a further referendum and who knows what will happen with the Northern Ireland peace process. Yup, this shit just got real. I pity whichever (undemocratically decided) prime minister we get next, who will have the job of reuniting a country so divided.

Brexiteers feel like they have their country back, I feel like mine has been taken away. Today the papers around Europe reported that Britain no longer wants to be part of the EU. Not in my name. I no longer feel like I identify with Britain and what the world thinks we stand for. Call me a sore loser, I don’t care, but today I think we’ve all lost something. I only hope our children can forgive us.